White Paper: Privacy and Security for Women-Led SMBs in Digital Financial Services

Small and micro businesses (SMBs) are the backbone of economic growth and resilience in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet despite their vital role, women entrepreneurs continue to face barriers to accessing and fully benefiting from digital financial services (DFS). Their adoption and sustained use of DFS depends not only on the availability of products, but also on their perceptions of privacy and security. Because financial services rely heavily on trust, women’s willingness to engage is closely tied to how safe they feel when sharing their data, making transactions, and verifying their identities.

This white paper examines the perceptions, expectations and lived experiences of women-led SMBs regarding privacy and security in DFS. It introduces a taxonomy of privacy and security solutions that illustrates how different ecosystem actors are addressing women’s needs, and offers considerations for DFS providers and other stakeholders to help narrow the gap between what women expect and what they experience.